5 reasons to take the course "Resistance to antibacterial agents"

The discovery of antibiotics in the first part of the 20th century led to the cure of many life-threatening infectious diseases and antibiotic therapy. Together with hygiene and vaccination, it was a predominant factor in increasing lifespan of recent decades. However, very soon afterwards, bacteria developed mechanisms of resistance to these treatments. This resistance has been favored and amplified by poorly controlled use of antibiotics, in humans, but also in animals, and in particular livestock, where antibiotics are often given for nutritional reasons. At present, some germs are resistant to all known antibiotics, thereby increasing mortality from infectious disease. WHO has calculated that if nothing is done in the coming years, mortality from multi-resistant infections will be responsible, by 2050, for 10 million deaths worldwide.

Here are 5 important reasons to follow this MOOC:

1 - Grasping the full extent of this major public health risk 

International health organizations have made it an absolute public health priority.

2 - Placing antibiotic resistance in a "One Health" perspective

Understanding in particular how the intermingling of humans, animals, and the environment, along with climate change, armed conflicts, and population displacements, contributes to worsening and accelerating the worldwide spread of resistance.

3 - Understanding the multiple strategies of acquisition and dissemination of bacterial resistance

Aquatic environments constitute a major vector of dissemination.

4 - Knowing the mechanisms for controlling antibiotic prescription 

A greater rationalization of antibiotic use in humans and in livestock farming sectors is beginning to bear fruit.

5 - Exploring therapeutic avenues to circumvent bacterial resistance 

The use of artificial intelligence for the design and screening of new antibacterial molecules, as well as alternative methods such as phage therapy, should enable a more effective fight against resistance.

To register and learn more, click here
Institut Pasteur

Enrolment: 3 September 2026 to 2 November 2027
Course: 3 November 2026 to 2 November 2027

It is part of the Digital Diploma of Infectious Diseases of the Institut Pasteur (DNM2IP).